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WAR BABIES 

THE ADVENTURES IN THE AIR OF 
JACQUE AND JACQUELINE 





















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WAR BABIES 


BY 

ANNIE WOOD FRANCHOT 

ii 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

MARY LOUISE DAVIS 



OLEAN, N. Y. 

1914 


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Copyright, 1914 
By Annie Wood Franchot 


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THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. 

DEC -4 1914 

©CI.A387825 

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I 


Illustrations 


Jacque and Jacqueline were playing in the lovely 

old walled-in garden of their home . Frontispiece is' 

Facing Page 

Finally they sank on the steps of an old church on 

the outskirts of the city 2\X 

With a flap and whir away they went, flying up 

into the sky 4 ^ 

There in the field below them was a girl watching 

a flock of cackling geese 6 y 

Down by their side came a great bird with white 

and black feathers and long legs i 8 ' 

She asked them if they were hungry, to which 

Jacqueline quickly replied: “Oh, so hungry! ” io / 

Then he knew they were on the gallery on top of 

the Cathedral of Notre Dame 20 " 

They might see the African troops marching by, 

having come from Africa to fight for France . 24 

Everywhere were queer-looking big wheels that 

went round with the wind 30 / 

[vii] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Facing Page 

Squirming and kicking up they came to Jacqueline’s 


delight 34 1 ' 

They landed before the doorway of a house from 

whose windows a bright light shone . . . 38^ 


The houses were different from any they had ever 
seen, with their roofs hanging far over the sides 42 v 


The great bear pit where people were standing 
looking over the railing at the antics of the 
bears below 



He pointed out the Latin sails on the boats, a sail 
peculiar to Lake Geneva . . 


48^ 


Here they sat down against one of the life-boats, 
hidden from any passer-by 



It was a very pleasant sensation riding the crest of 
the waves whale-back 


56^ 


“ It must be an American eagle, for it looks like 
the bird on the silver American dollar ” . . 

The door was opened by a gray-haired old butler . 


58 s 

60 > 


[ viH ] 


WAR BABIES 




WAR BABIES 

THE ADVENTURES IN THE AIR OF JACQUE 
AND JACQUELINE 

B ING, Bang, Ping, Pang! 

Jacque and Jacqueline were playing in 
the lovely old walled-in garden of their home 
in Verdun in Northern France, while a great 
battle was raging between the allied armies of 
England and France against Germany. 

Again the guns — Bing! Bang! Ping! and 
everything seemed to shake; even the ground 
trembled and windows crashed and the chil- 
dren’s mother came rushing from the house 
calling, “Jacqueline, Jacque, come quickly,” 
but the words had hardly passed her lips 
when a bomb exploded in the garden path 
and she fell dead before their eyes. 

[ i ] 


WAR BABIES 


Frightened and bewildered, the children 
ran from the garden calling for their father, 
but their father — the poor children did 
not know until later — had fallen early in 
the day, killed by a German Uhlan’s lance 
while fighting to defend his city. In their 
terror the children ran wildly on and on, 
away from falling shells and exploding 
bombs, until finally they sank on the steps 
of an old church on the outskirts of the 
city. 

Clasped in each other’s arms, they sat 
huddled in a corner of the doorway. Jac- 
queline rested her curly head against her 
brother’s shoulder, sobbing. Jacque sat look- 
ing out with great scared eyes, wondering 
what all the noise meant and when it 
would stop. He could see flames of fire 
all over the city, and the smoke made his 
eyes smart and ache. Suddenly he started 
[ 2 1 





WAR BABIES 


and roused Jacqueline, crying, “Sister, see 
what is this!” and at that moment appeared 
before them a strange, great flapping thing 
with big wings and a man’s body, and the 
man bird spoke to them with strange sounds 
that seemed to the children as if he were 
trying hard to swallow something. He 
reached out big, strong arms and lifted 
Jacque and Jacqueline into the place be- 
side him, strapping them safely to the seat. 
The children were too tired and frightened 
even to ask who he was. With a flap and 
whir away they went, flying up into the 
sky, and Jacqueline reached out her little 
hand to see if she could touch the blue, 
so near it seemed. As they looked down, 
all that they could see below was fire 
and smoke and great masses of men all 
about the city, who seemed to move forward 
and backward as if blown by the wind, and 
[ 3 ] 


WAR BABIES 


the smoke rolled in great clouds over all; 
all they could hear was the roar of the 
cannon and the boom, boom of the guns. 
They did not dare to ask questions of the 
big bird-man, for he looked so stern and 
troubled and shook his head when Jacque 
asked him where they were going. They 
did not know that “all French was as 
Greek” to him, as he was a German. 

Jacqueline said, “Pinch him, Jacque, and 
see if he will make the funny sounds in his 
throat again”; Jacque wisely shook his head 
and whispered low, “ Poor big bird, he can’t 
talk!” 

On and on they flew, over mountains and 
valleys, until they were far away from the 
sound of battle. Once Jacqueline caught 
Jacque’s arm and said, “See! A goose girl 
like the picture grandmother showed us”; 
and there in the field below them was a girl 
[ 4 ] 




I5E5HSESS5ESH! 




\ 




WAR BABIES 


watching a flock of cackling geese, and at 
the same time knitting away, as fast as her 
needles could fly, on a pair of big socks, 
probably for a father or brother in the 
war. 

Finally the two little children fell fast 
asleep — their little heads close together 
against the bird-man’s knee. 

When they wakened the next morning, 
the sun was just coming up over the hills. 
No bird -man was in sight, and they were 
nestled in a warm soft nest on top of a 
thatched roof of a house. As they looked 
about them they saw roof after roof and 
many towers, all in the shades of red and 
brown. They remembered then stories their 
mother had read to them of Germany and 
an old city called Nuremberg and of great, 
strong birds called storks, who sometimes 
carried babies to homes where they were 
[ 5 ] 


WAR BABIES 


wanted. They wondered if this were Nu- 
remberg and if the bird-man was a stork 
who had brought them here from their 
home in France. They wished he would 
come back and take them home, for they 
were hungry and wanted their mother, and 
Jacqueline was sobbing as if her little heart 
would break, though Jacque tried to com- 
fort her by patting her face as he had seen 
their mother do. 

Soon they heard a great flapping of wings, 
and down by their side came a great bird 
with white and black feathers and long legs 
and a long bill which he opened, dropping 
a piece of bread in the children’s hands. 
This they ate hungrily while the stork — 
for this is what he was — stood by and looked 
at them curiously. Could it be, he thought, 
that the eggs in the nest had hatched while 
he was away in search of food and these two 
[ 6 ] 




’ HERE in the field below them was a girl watch- 
ing a flock of cackling geese 






WAR BABIES 


babies were his own; but if so, where was 
Mother Stork? He looked at them with his 
head on one side and then on the other, and 
he stood on one foot and then on the other, 
trying to solve the puzzle; then he flew 
away, but soon returned, bringing Mother 
Stork to see their strange storklings. Mother 
Stork was greatly excited and indignant to 
think Father Stork should think these queer 
little strange babies were their own fluffy 
little storklings, and then without even 
saying, “If you please,” or “S’il vous plait,” 
they each picked up a child in their long 
bills and flew away, far away, over the pretty 
red roofs and towers and walls and gardens, 
where little girls and boys were playing. 
There seemed to be so few people, and they 
were all women and children, and every 
place was so quiet that Jacque wondered 
if all the men had gone to Verdun to see 
[ 7 ] 


WAR BABIES 


how much noise they could make in 
France. 

Soon, however, they heard again the 
booming of cannon, and they saw crowds 
and crowds of men by a bridge trying to 
cross, and a few men were trying to keep 
the many from crossing to their side. 

Jacque cried, “Look down, Jacqueline! 
see how brave men are! See! Here is one 
young man standing alone on the bridge, 
keeping many men from crossing. Oh, see ! 
He has lifted a big gun and is firing it 
alone. The others who were with him 
have all been shot. See, sister, how strong 
he is ! Oh, I wish I were a man, that I 
might help! Oh! Jacqueline, see! he too 
is shot, and the men are crossing the bridge 
into his country and taking his gun ! ” 

Father and Mother Stork finally grew tired 
of their burdens and thought they were far 
[ 8 ] 



D 


OWN by their side came a great bird with white 
and black feathers and long legs 




WAR BABIES 


enough away now from their nest that these 
queer babies could not come back. Looking 
down they saw the nicest possible place to 
drop them, so down they flew and dropped 
the children — where do you suppose? — 
right on the back of the lion that stands on 
the very top of the great mound two hundred 
feet high that marks the battle of Waterloo, 
where ninety-nine years before — although 
the children did not know this — was fought a 
great battle when England and Holland, Bel- 
gium and Germany won the victory against 
the French under Napoleon Buonaparte. 
The children slipped down from the great 
lion’s back and looked about them. No 
one was near, and it seemed as if they were 
all alone on the edge of the world. 

Soon Jacqueline spied the long flight of 
steps leading down the side of the mound, 
and down they trotted, holding tight to one 
[ 9 1 


WAR BABIES 


another for fear of falling. When they 
reached the ground below, they saw a man 
and a woman with a cart drawn by two big 
dogs, and in the cart were great shining cans. 
The woman’s quick mother eye caught sight 
of the two children, and calling them to her 
she asked them if they were hungry, to which 
Jacqueline quickly replied, “Oh, so hungry!” 
The woman then took, from the beautiful 
shining cans, cups of delicious milk, and the 
children drank until their little stomachs 
could hold no more and Jacque wished he 
were a camel so he could carry some with 
him. 

The man asked where they were going, 
and Jacque answered, “To Verdun,” and 
Jacqueline cried, “Ama mere.” Tears came 
to the woman’s eyes, and the man lifted the 
little orphans into the cart and said they 
would take them as far as they were going 
[ io ] 



1 




• 


cksHS25HH2EH5SSHSHSHHl 


WAR BABIES 


beautiful cheeses, tempting fruits and vege- 
tables, and Jacqueline thought she had never 
seen such lovely flowers, and Jacque, look- 
ing about him, thought he had never seen 
such a beautiful place : the graceful building 
of the Hotel de Ville — the old State House 
— on one side, and the Guild Houses with 
their gilded decorations on another, and 
many other interestingly beautiful buildings 
that Jacque will come back some day to 
study. 

The peasants in the market place gathered 
about the children, giving them much to 
eat, more than Jacque’ s stomach could hold, 
and he stored some away in his blouse for 
future need. 

While they were being so well cared for, 
a German officer came up to them and 
asked the children their names and where 
they were going, and when they said Jacque 
[ 12 ] 


WAR BABIES 


and Jacqueline and that they wanted to go to 
Verdun, the officer said, “Ach Franzosisch! 
Here, Captain Waldo, call Lieutenant Fliigel 
and tell him to take these little French chil- 
dren into their own country,” and he slipped 
a piece of silver into the hand of each child 
solemnly saluting as he went on his way. 

The sound of the aeroplane they heard 
once more, and, as before, the bird-man’s 
strong arm reached out and lifted the chil- 
dren into the car, but the face of this bird- 
man was not the same as the one who took 
them from home. 

Again they were in the air, and this time 
they were flying very high, for there were 
battles being fought all about them, and 
again they heard the sounds of guns and 
cannon, and they .could see the flashing 
of bayonets in the sun, and they could hear 
the screaming of wounded horses and the 
[ i3 ] 


WAR BABIES 


cries of dying men. Jacque asked the 
lieutenant what it all meant, but all he 
could say was, “Ich verstehe nicht,” and 
this the little French children could not 
understand and thought he too was having 
trouble with his throat and could not really 
talk. So they sat still, strapped to the side 
of this strange bird-man who could not talk, 
but only make strange sounds in his throat. 
As they flew over a river where the noise 
seemed loudest, the bird-man exclaimed, 
“Aisnel” and Jacque knew that he saw the 
river Aisne that flowed near his own home, 
and his heart felt lighter; but when he' 
looked down and saw the armies of men 
below in such masses, he thought they must 
reach round the world, and when he heard 
the bang, banging of guns and heard the 
cries, he knew that men were falling as his 
dear mother had fallen, and the big tears 
[ i4 ] 


WAR BABIES 


rolled down his cheeks and splashed on his 
dirty little hands and startled him. He 
looked up quickly to see if the big man 
saw the splash, and then held his head high 
and said to himself, “Jacque, be brave. 
Your father is a soldier and you must not 
cry ! ” 

On they flew, and always that horrible 
noise of guns and battle. Jacque wondered 
why suddenly it grew so dark, but when 
he felt the mist on his coat and face, he 
knew they were in a fog, and it was so 
thick they could not see below them; but 
the bird-man seemed to know where they 
were, for with a quick turn of the wheel 
they began dropping slowly and so softly that 
it seemed to Jacque as if they were float- 
ing on soft cushions of clouds. Lower and 
lower they went until, peering through the 
fog, they saw forms and faces of men in 
[ iS ] 


WAR BABIES 


deep trenches and Jacque noticed the men 
wore soldier caps like his father wore. Their 
faces looked drawn and tense, and in their 
hands were guns which pointed straight 
before them, then — one face looked up! 
and ping, ping, ping, the bullets were fly- 
ing; with a spring, up in the air they 
flew, faster and faster, until they were far 
away from even the sound of bullets and 
battle. The bird-man chuckled with laugh- 
ter, and Jacque and Jacqueline wondered 
what he had seen or heard that was so 

For a time they flew at a great height, 
then down, down they came until they were 
out of the fog. Looking down they saw 
houses again and knew it must be a great 
city, for there were roofs as far as they 
could see. High they flew, right over the 
gates of the city — a bird-man needs no 
C 16 ] 


WAR BABIES 


passports. As they passed over the tree tops 
of a park, Jacque looked up to the bird- 
man and said, “Est ce Paris?” The big 
man understood the child’s questioning look 
and said, “Ja, Paris.” Then Jacque knew 
this must be the' Bois, the beautiful park of 
Paris where his mother and father had 
brought Jacqueline and him to play when 
they were in Paris. What was his surprise 
to see now, grazing on the beautiful green, 
hundreds of cows and sheep where they had 
played at hide-and-seek and blind-man’s- 
buff with other children, and what puzzled 
the children still more, was that soldiers 
were guarding the cows and sheep. Some 
day later they will know that the cows 
and the sheep are guarded here in the heart 
of the city to provide food for the people 
of Paris if the Germans should lay siege to 
the city; for it takes a great deal of food 


WAR BABIES 


even for one day for a million or more 
people, and when a city is in a state of 
siege, no one can bring food to them and 
they must live on what they have inside 
their walls or fortifications. 

It grew darker and soon they saw long 
shafts of light swinging in the sky, and it 
seemed to Jacque that they were flying 
faster all the time and that the bird-man 
dodged the shafts of light. Afterward 
Jacque learned that these swinging lights 
were search-lights sent out from the top of 
the Eiffel Tower in search of just such birds 
as these. 

Soon they began dropping, and then they 
seemed to slide, and finally the children 
were carefully lifted out and put down on 
a broad place on top of a roof. The 
bird-man wrapped them in his own great- 
coat and gave them bread and cakes and 
[ 18 ] 


WAR BABIES 


said “Adieu.” They heard a flapping of 
great wings and then all was still. Not 
daring to move in the dark, and warm 
in the folds of the great-coat, they fell 
asleep in each other’s arms, Jacque mur- 
muring to himself, “Paris, France! Mother, 
father!” 

Jacqueline was the first to waken as the 
morning sun shone in her face, and as she 
sat up she saw queer animals and birds 
with men’s faces, and men’s bodies with 
the faces of animals and birds all about her, 
some with their faces in their hands leering 
at her, and in terror she wakened Jacque. 
Rubbing his eyes, Jacque stood up and 
looked about him, and then he knew they 
were on the gallery on top of the Cathedral 
of Notre Dame; for had not his father 
brought him to this very place and pointed 
out these very figures and said that they 
[ i9 ] 


WAR BABIES 


were chimeras or gargoyles, and they never 
sleep but are always watching over Paris day 
and night? — all of which Jacque explained 
to Jacqueline and quieted her fears. They 
then ate their breakfast of the food the kind 
bird-man had left for them and went out to 
the great balustrade, over which Jacque could 
just see comfortably; but little Jacqueline 
could only see through the holes. 

Jacque, with the air of his father, tried to 
point out the buildings his father had pointed 
out to him — the Pantheon where Jacque 
said France buried her great and brave men 
when they died; and Jacqueline looked up 
into her brother’s face and said, trying to 
copy his grown-up air, “I presume you will 
be buried there some day, Jacque!” 

Shining in the sunlight was the great 
dome of the tomb of Napoleon, and clear 
against the sky was the Eiffel Tower and 
[ 20 ] 


r HEN he knew they were on the gallery on top of 
the Cathedral of Notre Dame 































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































WAR BABIES 


the Trocadero and St. Jacque and many 
other buildings and monuments of interest; 
but Jacque’s knowledge did not go beyond 
the Pantheon, much to his regret. 

While the little girl and boy were look- 
ing down over the beautiful city, they did 
not hear footsteps approaching, and started 
in fear when they heard a voice say, “Tell 
me, little children, how did you get here?” 
Jacque knew this was a verger or caretaker 
of the cathedral, and he answered, “The 
bird-man brought us here, and here is his 
great-coat.” 

Puzzled by the “bird-man,” the verger 
picked up the coat and started, looking 
sharply at the children. “This is the coat 
of a German officer,” he said fiercely. “Who 
are you and what are you doing here alone? 
Where are your mother and father?” Then 
he sat down by the children and they told 
[ 21 ] 


WAR BABIES 


him their story, and he said, “You may stay 
here until afternoon, and then I will come 
back when my work is done and take you 
out for a walk. I must go now, for people 
are waiting for me in the cathedral below.” 

The children wandered about for a time 
(Jacqueline keeping close to Jacque as they 
passed the fierce-looking animals, for in 
spite of Jacque’s explanation, she did not 
like to go too near), after this they sat 
down together, watching the doves flying 
about the queer stone gargoyles and com- 
ing to eat the crumbs from the children’s 
lunch. 

About three o’clock the old verger came 
back and took the children down the long 
winding stairways to the nave of the cathe- 
dral. Here, as they passed out, they saw 
women, old and young, kneeling before 
the Altar of the Virgin, and as they prayed, 
[ 22 ] 


WAR BABIES 


tears rolled down their cheeks. Jacqueline 
slipped away from her companions and ran 
up to one of the women and threw her 
arms about her neck and said, “Don’t cry, 
precious lady! The bird-man will take you 
home!” Before the woman could reply to 
these strange words of comfort, the verger led 
Jacqueline away, and they went out into 
the streets. Here they heard shouting and 
the tramping of many feet and the constant 
cry of “Vive la France!” When they had 
crossed the bridge and were on the Rue de 
Rivoli, they saw long lines of men coming 
toward them, and the verger lifted the chil- 
dren up on a cart standing near, so that they 
might see the African troops marching by, 
having come from Africa to fight for France. 
There were thousands of them, and fine, 
strong looking men they were, dressed in 
white baggy trousers and white blouses, 
[ 23 ] 


WAR BABIES 


the Arabs sitting so erect on their Arab 
steeds with their bright burnouses hanging 
from their shoulders and flowing gracefully 
back as they rode, and on their heads the 
white turbans. 

The men and women on the streets 
greeted them with great enthusiasm, giv- 
ing them money, wine, flowers, and hearty 
cheers. 

On and on they marched, there seemed 
no end, and occasionally one more full of 
spirit than the rest would spring into the 
air, clap his heels together, and come down 
laughingly into line and march on amid 
laughter and cheers of the bystanders. Many 
of the men were quite black; these were 
the Soudanese. 

“Who are they, Jacque?” asked Jacque- 
line, looking in wonder at the queerly 
dressed men. “Soldiers, sister, soldiers like 

[ 24 1 










WAR BABIES 


papa, only a different color,” said Jacque, 
his voice shaking with excitement. 

When the last man had passed, the verger 
took the children one on each side, and they 
walked along the street, the children full of 
wonder at all the sights of the city. When 
they passed the great buildings of the Louvre, 
where Paris keeps her art treasures, the old 
verger told them of the beautiful Venus de 
Milo that was found on the island of Milo 
in 1820, and of the Winged Mercury, and 
many other beautiful pieces of sculpture, and 
of paintings and porcelains and tapestries that 
people came from all over the world to see, 
and that now are packed carefully away in 
great vaults or caves under the ground, so 
that if the Germans should turn their guns 
on Paris and burn her beautiful buildings, 
these treasures would still be safe. The old 
man talked on of the treasures of his beloved 
[ 25 1 


WAR BABIES 


city, and the children listened as they had 
been taught to do when older people were 
talking, although they could not understand 
everything he said. 

As they passed the Gardens of the Tuile- 
ries, they saw a group of children standing 
watching a man around whom many birds 
were flying. The birds seemed to under- 
stand the man’s language, for they would 
come and go at his call. Many of them he 
called by name — Buonaparte, Robespierre, 
General Grant, Colonel Roosevelt, Benjamin 
Franklin, and many others — and each seemed 
to know his name. 

The old man and the little children wan- 
dered on to the Place de la Concorde, the 
most magnificent Place or Square in the 
world, the verger told the children. He 
pointed out to them the eight monuments 
representing eight principal cities of France, 
[ 26 ] 


WAR BABIES 


and one of them, — -the Strasburg monument 
— was always draped in black, because, he 
said, the Germans took the beautiful city 
from them in 1870, but now the black had 
been taken off and flowers had taken its 
place, for France hoped her brave soldiers 
would win back her long-mourned Alsace 
and Lorraine and so give her Strasburg again. 
The old man took the children on to see 
the fountains, telling them, as they walked, 
of all the soldiers of different nations who 
had camped here at different times, and of 
the terrible stories of war the stones could 
tell if they could speak! How, here King 
Louis XVI and his beautiful queen, Marie 
Antoinette, and many, many others were put 
to death by the guillotine. 

As they came to the Arc de Triomphe de 
l’Etoile, the verger told them the name 
meant “Triumphal Arch of the Star,” be- 
[ 2 7 ] 


WAR BABIES 


cause of the star formed here by the twelve 
avenues starting from this point, and Napo- 
leon I built it to make people remember 
the French soldiers who had fought and 
given their lives for France. 

When they had wandered about here for 
a time, listening to the old man’s talk of 
past wars and present glories, it came to the 
verger that his little friends might be hungry, 
and he hurried them away to a nearby cafe, 
where men, women, and children were sitting 
out under the trees at little tables eating and 
talking with earnest faces, and always the 
children heard the word war! war! war! 

The verger ordered all the things he 
thought the children would like to eat, 
and they were very happy. After they had 
finished and the children had thanked their 
friend many times for his goodness to them, 
the verger went inside the cafe to pay his 
[ 28 ] 


WAR BABIES 


account, and the children stood outside 
waiting for him. While they stood looking 
at the people about them, there came an 
awful bang and crash, like shells exploding, 
and men and women rushed out into the 
street and cried, looking up into the sky, 
“A bomb! The Germans are coming!” 

Jacque caught Jacqueline’s hand and 
shouted, “Jacqueline, see! It is our friend 
the bird-man! Come, let us run and call 
to him. Perhaps he will take us home!” 
In this new excitement they forgot the 
kind old verger and ran as fast as their little 
legs would carry them, until they were 
in the Bois; here they saw the bird-man fly- 
ing over their heads, and they waved and 
shouted to him to come down and get 
them. With the whirring sound so familiar to 
them now, the great bird-man came down 
and lifted them up to their old place by 
[ 29 ] 


WAR BABIES 


his side, and they snuggled down con- 
tentedly by him. For what did they know 
of enemies and causes of war! Had not 
the bird-man brought them safely back to 
France and given them his great-coat and 
food? Was he not their friend? He patted 
each curly head and said, “Bon jour, mes 
enfants.” This was one of only three sen- 
tences he had learned of French, but it de- 
lighted the children to find he could really 
talk, and they chattered on with great glee, 
happy to be flying through the air again 
with their friend. 

The time passed so quickly they did not 
realize that they had left Paris far behind 
them. It was growing dark and they soon 
fell asleep, for the day had been a very busy 
one and they had walked a long way with 
the old verger. Of the night and where 
they were the little travelers knew nothing, 
[ 30 ] 












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WAR BABIES 


but when they wakened in the morning, 
they heard again the sounds of war, the con- 
stant bing! bing! of great guns, the ping! 
ping! of bullets, and roar of cannon. Look- 
ing down they saw masses of men around 
a city, and they saw the great walls before 
the city falling, and buildings burning and 
crashing down, and men, women, and little 
children running in great confusion. They 
heard the cries of those who fell, and all 
seemed trying to get out of the city. 

The bird-man pointed down and said 
“Antwerp,” and this Jacque guessed must be 
the name of the city. But they flew on and 
on, into a country where there were no 
hills, but a great deal of water running in 
streams like ribbons. Everywhere were queer- 
looking big wheels that went round with 
the wind, and oh, such beautiful gardens 
and bright-colored flowers, and in the fields 
[ 3i ] 


WAR BABIES 


they saw so many cows all with linen dusters 
covering their backs. Jacqueline cried to go 
down and get some milk from the cows, 
and the bird-man thought she was crying 
to know where she was and said “Holland.” 
Then Jacqueline remembered the pictures 
her grandmother had shown her of queerly 
dressed little girls and boys from Holland, 
and sure enough, here they were, just as 
if they had stepped out of the picture. 

They flew over a large sea and the bird- 
man said “Zuider Zee,” and here were little 
islands with fishermen busy at their boats 
and all the people seemed to be flying about 
busily at work. 

The houses were very small and the 
people, when they went in, left their wooden 
shoes outside the door; so at some doors, 
where there were many children, there were 
funny long rows of shoes of all sizes. 

[ 32 ] 


WAR BABIES 


Jacqueline clapped her hands with joy 
when she saw a group of children playing 
together in a garden. Jacque heard a rat- 
tling sound, and looking up at the bird- 
man saw a funny twinkle in his eye. 
Then he saw a piece of iron, turned up at 
both ends attached to a piece of rope, go 
down to the group of children and catch the 
full skirts of a little girl on one hook and a 
little boy on the other, and, squirming and 
kicking, up they came, to Jacqueline’s de- 
light. She looked them over with great 
interest, and they stopped squirming in their 
astonishment at seeing the children up so 
high in the air. Jacque brought some cake 
from his blouse and offered it to the little 
strangers, but they refused it, as it looked a 
little the worse for wear. 

After Jacqueline had touched the many 
skirts of the little Dutch girl and patted her 
[ 33 1 


WAR BABIES 


hand in a very dainty, friendly way, the bird- 
man said “Adieu” and let the little Dutch 
children down again to their garden below 
before they hardly knew what had happened 
to them; then up high in the air the bird- 
man and children flew again, over the houses 
and churches faster and faster away, and the 
wind whistled in their ears and the children’s 
eyes grew bright and their cheeks red with 
excitement. The bird-man reached in his 
pocket and brought out food, which he gave 
to the children; and when they had eaten 
and it grew dark and they could no longer 
see the strange sights below them, they fell 
asleep and again the night passed, of which 
they knew nothing but dreams of Dutch 
dolls and toy houses and wooden shoes all 
in rows. 

In the morning they wakened to find 
themselves in a new country with mountains 
[ 34 ] 





O 'QUIRMING and kicking up they came , to Jacque- 
^ line s delight ™ 







WAR BABIES 


and forests, and they were flying over a great 
river, and the bird-man looked down and 
with a long breath of joy exclaimed, “Ach, 
mein Vaterland! Der Rhein!” On either 
side of the river, on the high crests of the 
rocks, they saw beautiful old castles, many 
of them ruins, and the walls overgrown with 
ivy. As they flew over a high rock that 
sprang straight from the river, the bird-man 
said “Die Lorelei,” and Jacque remembered 
his mother singing to him a German song 
which she told him was of a beautiful 
maiden, the Lorelei, who sat on the rock 
and sang while combing her beautiful hair 
with a golden comb — a wonderful song that 
lured boatmen to the rocks below, where 
they were dashed to death. Most school 
boys and girls know this German song that 
begins, “Ich weiss nicht, was soil es bedeuten, 
Dass ich so traurig bin,” and when Jacque 
[ 35 ] 


WAR BABIES 


hummed the air, the bird-man looked very- 
much pleased and said “Gut! gut!” Jacque 
thought if the bird-man liked music so well, 
he would surely like the song that he liked 
best of all, and he began to sing the first 
lines of the Marseillaise, the national hymn 
of France: “Allons enfants de la patrie Le 
jour de gloire est arrive.” But when he 
looked up at the bird-man after singing 
the first line, he saw that something was 
wrong, for the bird-man’s face was stern 
and dark, and he looked away from the 
children and did not smile at all. Jacque 
wondered what he had done, and thought 
he must have sung very badly, and he was 
glad to feel Jacqueline’s little hand slip into 
his, for he knew that she loved the song and 
his singing. 

For some time after this thef children sat 
silently watching the wonderful scene be- 
[ 36 ] 


WAR BABIES 


neath them. High they flew over the 
beautiful Cathedral of Cologne, with its tall 
spires towering toward the sky, and always 
the broad flowing river before them. After 
a long silence the children heard the bird- 
man humming under his breath. Finally he 
began singing, and the words poured out 
as if he could no longer hold them. In a 
deep rich voice came the wonderful refrain 
of the national hymn of Germany: 

“ Lieb Vaterland ! magst ruhig sein ; 

Fest steht und treu die Wacht am Rhein!” 

Soon the children realized that they could 
no longer see the broad river, and looking 
down they saw only the dense black forest 
of evergreens. 

“Oh! so many Christmas trees!” cried 
Jacqueline. 

This was Germany’s wonderful Schwartz- 
wald, and here the bird-man seemed to be 
[ 37 ] 


WAR BABIES 


at home, for as it grew dark they slowly 
descended to the ground and landed before 
the doorway of a house from whose windows 
a bright light shone. A woman with a 
sweet face and lovely yellow hair came to 
the door and greeted the bird-man very 
affectionately. She took a hand of each child 
and led them into the house, where a bright 
wood fire was burning on a broad hearth, 
and its warmth was very welcome to the 
travelers; for although it was August and 
very warm weather, the night in the forest 
was cool. 

The woman bathed the children’s hands 
and faces, and then made them sit down to 
eat at the table, where the bird-man was al- 
ready enjoying the many good things. When 
they had finished their meal, the woman 
took the tired little ones to a room upstairs. 
She undressed and bathed them, and they 
[ 38 ] 





WAR BABIES 


knelt at her knee to say the prayers their 
mother had taught them. Although they 
spoke a language she did not know, she 
understood the children’s prayer, for it was 
to the Great Father of all children, young 
and old, great and small. 

When they were tucked snug in their 
beds and the kind woman had gone down- 
stairs, they looked about them and saw, to 
their surprise, other beds, and in them three 
little yellow-haired German boys were sleep- 
ing sweetly. Jacque soon fell asleep, but 
Jacqueline was lying awake, wondering if 
there were no little girls in Germany, when 
she heard a footstep, and peeping over the 
covers she saw the big form of the bird-man 
stepping softly to the beds where the little 
boys were sleeping; saw him stoop and kiss 
each little face and whisper something which 
Jacqueline could not understand, then he 
[ 39 ] 


WAR BABIES 


tiptoed quietly down the stairs and all was 
still again, and then Jacqueline said, “Our 
bird-man must be father to these little 
German boys,” and she guessed right, as little 
girls usually do at such times, where mother 
and father love is concerned. 

In the morning bright and early the chil- 
dren were wakened and lifted from their 
bed by the kind woman of the night before. 
She dressed them quietly and quickly, with- 
out waking the little boys in the other beds, 
and took the children downstairs, where the 
bird-man greeted them and motioned them 
to sit down and eat their breakfast, which 
they were very glad to do ; for little French 
girls and boys, like all little girls and boys 
the world over, are always ready to eat, 
I think. 

When they had finished their breakfast, the 
woman gave them each a bag of “goodies” 
[ 40 ] 


WAR BABIES 


and the bird-man lifted them into their 
seat beside him in the big bird-car. Wav- 
ing a farewell to the woman in the door- 
way, away they flew, glad to be high in 
the fresh air again. 

This time their journey was not a long 
one. 

They flew over lakes and rivers, and then 
over great mountains covered with snow, 
and Jacque wondered why the snow did not 
melt in the warm sunshine that now en- 
veloped them. On the mountain sides were 
Christmas trees, as Jacqueline would call 
them — tannenbaume the bird-man would 
say. They looked like a checker-board, for 
they were growing in squares of trees of 
all different heights from one foot to eighty 
feet; the fields of different grain were also 
in squares, which added to the checker- 
board effect. 


[ 4i 1 


WAR BABIES 


The country looked so peaceful — no 
booming of cannon or bursting of bombs. 
Shepherds watched their flocks of sheep and 
herds of cows far up the mountain side, and 
often the children heard the clear, sweet 
voice of a shepherd boy singing and yodel- 
ing, and always the song seemed to begin 
or end with the refrain “ Mein Vaterland.” 

The houses were different from any they 
had ever seen, with their roofs hanging far 
over the sides, and all were in the soft 
shades of brown. Many were carved across 
the front with lettering: they looked as 
if they had been built hundreds of years 
ago. 

The children were so interested in watch- 
ing the moving pictures below that they did 
not realize they were gradually flying nearer 
the ground. Finally they sailed over a swift- 
flowing blue river, and then over many red- 
[ 42 ] 



<• / HE houses were different from any they had ever 
^ seen, with their roofs hanging far over the sides 





WAR BABIES 


tiled roofs and churches and cathedrals and 
many beautiful buildings, and then they 
heard the bird-man exclaim “ Bern ! ” 

Jacque and Jacqueline were greatly ex- 
cited. They knew that the city of Bern 
was the capital of Switzerland; for it was in 
Bern that their mother lived when she came 
from America when a very little girl, and 
here she married their father when he was 
a professor in the University of Bern. How 
often she had told them of all the beauty 
and wonder of Switzerland; the strength 
and goodness of her people; how kind they 
were in Bern to all the strangers who came 
to their city; of the wonderful physician 
who had not only saved the lives of men 
and women, boys and girls of different lands, 
but had made them better men and women, 
boys and girls, for having seen a life of 
wonderful self-sacrifice. What interested 
[ 43 ] 


WAR BABIES 


Jacque and Jacqueline most was the stories 
she told them of how, hundreds of years 
ago, a nobleman was living in his castle, 
or chateau, where Bern now stands, and he 
said to his companions, who wanted to build 
their homes in the beautiful valley of the 
Aare, “We will name the place for the 
first animal that comes out of the forest,” 
and behold it was a bear; so they named 
the place “Bern,” which means “Bear,” 
and from that time to this day the city 
government has set aside a certain amount 
of money to keep the bears in their pit at 
the end of the Nydeck bridge over the 
Aare. They also remembered that she 
told them of the many old fountains of 
Bern; one which impressed them most was 
of an ogre who was eating a child and whose 
pockets were filled with children; and 
of one representing the “ Pied Piper of 
[ 44 ] 



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WAR BABIES 


Hamelin ” blowing his pipe and followed by 
little children. 

While the children were excitedly talking 
this all over, the flying car was slowly 
slipping to the ground, and with a bump 
the children were landed, and where do you 
think it was but right by the great bear pit 
where people were standing looking over the 
railing at the antics of the bears below ! 

With a heavy heart and sad little faces 
the children saw their bird-man fly away, 
waving his good-by as he flew high into the 
air. Sad indeed would they have been 
had they known that an hour later, as he 
flew over the border into France, the shot of 
a French sharp-shooter pierced his heart and 
he and the flying car fell, never to rise again. 

The children wandered about the city 
until they found themselves in a beautiful 
forest, where it was quiet and the needles 
[ 45 ] 


WAR BABIES 


of the pine trees made a soft carpet on 
which they sat down; soon they fell asleep 
in each other’s arms and knew nothing 
more of interest or sorrow until the sun 
was high over the mountains. Then they 
found they were again in the air, flying 
away over the house tops; this time their 
bird-man was not their old friend the 
silent German, but a French officer, who 
smiled as the children wakened, and said, 
“Bon jour, mes enfants,” delighted they 
were to hear their own language to be able 
to ask questions and to be understood. 

“Please, how did we get here?” said 
Jacque. The bird-man told him that, as 
he was flying over the forest, he looked 
down and saw them sleeping on the ground, 
and he was afraid some harm might come 
to them. “So,” said he, “I slipped down 
and picked you up into my air-ship, and 
[ 46 ] 


WAR BABIES 


here you are! Hungry, I suppose. What 
do you say to flying down and gathering 
some fruit from that garden?” This de- 
lighted the children, and down they sailed 
and gathered pears and apples and plums 
and left a little bag of money hanging on 
the tree. This mode of marketing pleased 
the children greatly. 

Up and on they flew again over hill and 
dale, tall snow-capped mountains and wind- 
ing rivers, and over beautiful gardens bright 
with flowers. As they passed over a great 
body of water of a very beautiful blue color, 
they asked the bird-man what it was, and 
he said it was Lake Leman or Lake Geneva, 
as the English called it, and he pointed out 
the Latin sails on the boats, a sail peculiar 
to Lake Geneva. 

As they flew over a snow-covered moun- 
tain whose top shone cold and clear in the 
[47 ] 


WAR BABIES 


bright sunshine, the children shivered, and 
the bird-man told them that it was Mt. Blanc 
and that it was 15,781 feet high, the highest 
point of land in Europe. They saw men 
climbing the mountain side, tied to one 
another with long ropes between, and they 
looked like little dwarfs. 

The bird-man felt that it was safe to fly 
a little lower now. It was very cold so 
high in the air for the little children. For 
hours they flew over the most beautiful 
country Jacque thought he had ever seen. 
As they flew lower, they saw a man hurry- 
ing along the highway, and as they sailed 
over him, Jacque heard a rattling sound. 
Looking over the side he saw that the anchor 
had fallen down, and behold it caught the 
hurrying man in the strap of his big coat 
and up he sailed, the bird-man chuckling to 
himself at the queer sight. 

[ 48 ] 


EHSHSH 5H5E 





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peculiar to Lake Geneva 












































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































WAR BABIES 


“ He looks as if he wanted to get out 
of the country in a hurry,” said the bird- 
man, “so we will help him.” 

The children were greatly excited and 
watched with great interest the dangling 
man below. Finally they saw a great ocean 
reaching as far as they could see, and many 
boats were sailing away on its surface, and 
near the shore they saw a very large boat. 
On its staff Jacque recognized the American 
flag; for his mother had always kept an 
American flag among her treasures. 

“Oh, please, Mr. Bird-man, take us to 
that American boat, and perhaps the cap- 
tain will take us to our mother’s country, 
where we can see our grandmother.” The 
bird-man said, « I will try,” and care- 
fully sailing lower he came over the deck 
of the boat, here he landed first the 
dangling from the anchor, and then 
[ 49 ] 


man 


WAR BABIES 


he came still lower and got out on the 
deck with the children. 

The man came to the bird-man, grasped 
his hand, and thanked him very warmly; 
for he said, when the anchor caught him 
from the ground, that he was hurrying to 
get away from Europe, where these horri- 
ble wars were raging, to his own country, 
America, and now the bird-man had brought 
him just where he wanted to be. Then the 
bird-man put the children in his care, tell- 
ing him they were orphans and wanted to 
go to their grandmother in America. He 
slipped a nice fat purse into Jacque’s hand 
and sailed away, and never again would they 
see him, for in time of war the life of a 
bird-man is short. 

Soon the big boat blew its great hoarse 
whistles, drew in its gang-plank, and sailed 
away into the Mediterranean Sea, bound 

[ 50 ] 


WAR BABIES 


for America, the great country of which the 
children’s mother had told them so many 
tales and which they thought must be some 
place in the region of Heaven. 

The first land they saw after sailing from 
Geneva was the island of Corsica, where, 
their American companion told them, the 
great Napoleon Buonaparte was born, the 
greatest general of war of his generation. 

The children’s new friend, the American 
of the anchor, took them under his care and 
made them as happy as possible. They were 
very tired and went to sleep early, the first 
night. Jacque was wakened in the morn- 
ing by the stopping of the motion of the 
boat, and jumping out of his berth, he 
climbed up to the porthole and looked 
out. There he saw the shores of Africa 
on one side and Spain on the other, and 
he wakened Jacqueline and brought her to 
[ Si 1 


WAR BABIES 


see the wonderful sight. They were in the 
harbor of Gibraltar, which, although it is in 
Spain, belongs to England, who has built 
a strong fortress here. 

Daylight had not yet broken, as the chil- 
dren looked out, they saw the great rock 
of Gibraltar, black and forbidding, rising 
above them, and against its side the many 
lights of the fort twinkled. In the harbor 
were more boats than Jacque had ever seen 
in all his life, and the lights on their sway- 
ing masts looked like great fireflies moving 
about; over the rock the young silver cres- 
cent moon hung as if suspended by an 
invisible thread. 

While the children watched this fairy-like 
night scene, entranced by its strange beauty, 
the whole atmosphere changed. The great 
warm sun came up, flooding rock, water, and 
sky with rose. The lights on the masts 
[ 52 ] 


WAR BABIES 


twinkled and went out, and one by one 
the lights of the fort were darkened, and 
Jacqueline said, “See, Jacque, God is pulling 
the string and the pretty silver moon has 
gone behind the rock!” The water was the 
color of a great opal, and the children 
thought they had never seen anything so 
beautiful. 

The boat’s engines began to throb, and 
away they sailed out again to sea. 

The children had many happy days on 
board the ship, there were a number of 
children on board; and although they could 
not all speak the same language, it did not 
seem to be any drawback to their pleasure. 

An American woman was taking home to 
America a little Belgian boy and girl whose 
parents had both been killed at Liege. 
They could speak French with Jacqueline 
and Jacque; and as they were about the same 
[ 53 ] 


WAR BABIES 


age, they gave Jacqueline and Jacque fresh 
clothes from their own to take the place of 
those they were wearing, which were worn 
and soiled from their much travelling. 

There were times, however, when our 
little Jacqueline and Jacque were sad and 
lonely, and their little hearts ached with 
longing for their mother and father and 
home. The strangeness of all that had 
happened in the past days made them feel 
dazed. One day they wandered away from 
the other children, and at last found them- 
selves alone on the top deck. Here they 
sat down against one of the life-boats, 
hidden from any passer-by. Snuggled to- 
gether with their arms around each other, 
they sat looking with wondering eyes far 
out over the sea. They had been many 
days on the boat, and they heard the steward 
say that very morning that they should soon 
[ 54 3 




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hidden from any passerby 


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WAR BABIES 


see Nantucket Light. Pretty soon the chil- 
dren’s eyes grew tired of watching, their 
heads nodded and they fell asleep, and 
so lost their balance and fell overboard. 
Down into the ocean they went with a 
splash! splash! and when they came to the 
surface, they saw the great ship sailing away, 
far away from them; but before they could 
cry, a kind friend in the shape of a big, 
black whale came up to them and waved 
his fins and tail invitingly, so the children 
climbed on the nice broad back, the big 
tail helping them up. It was a very pleas- 
ant sensation, riding the crest of the waves 

whale-rback. 

Soon it grew dark, and the children were 
just wondering where they would sleep, when 
they saw bright lights shining under the big 
fins of the whale, and down a stairway they 
went into a room lighted by whale oil in 
[ SS ] 


WAR BABIES 


many different colored lamps. A bed made 
of whale-bone stood in one corner, and 
when they washed their hands in the bowl 
ready to use on a table by the bed, Jac- 
queline exclaimed, “Whale-oil soap! This 
is what mother used in her garden.” On 
a whale-bone table in the middle of the 
room were all kinds of good things to eat 
— everything a little girl or boy of any land 
could wish for: cakes and cookies and 
doughnuts; tarts and figs and raisins and 
nuts; honey and bread with dates in it; 
milk and cream and lemonade and soda- 
water, and many other things whose names 
you would never guess. The children ate 
hungrily, and when they had finished, they 
wandered about the room looking at all 
the funny, finny things on the walls, sud- 
denly they heard a shrill little whistle, and 
looking around saw a taxicab. The driver 
[ 56 ] 





WAR BABIES 


was a queer fishy-looking little fellow, who 
flopped down from the seat and, bowing 
low, asked them to take a jolly ride. “Oh, 
you jelly-fish! Where can we ride inside of a 
whale?” Jacqueline said; they got in, how- 
ever, and with a chug! chug! went flying out 
of an arched whale-bone door into a long 
dark channel, and from there into a round 
room with round roof and two windows. 
Here Jacqueline’s jelly-fish told them to 
look out the windows. The windows were 
the eyes of the whale and were like tele- 
scopes, you could see so far. The children 
looked out and saw a bright light that 
blinked and went out and came again. 
“That must be Nantucket Light,” said 
Jacque, and the jelly-fish opened his slit of 
a mouth and said, “Sure enough.” The 
children then got back into the taxicab, and 
the queer little driver took them back to 
[ 57 ] 


WAR BABIES 


their room and told them it was time to 
go to bed. This advice they gladly took, for 
they were sleepy and saw nothing more 
to do. The night was a troubled one, full 
of queer dreams. The children had eaten 
too many cakes at dinner and the motion 
of riding in a whale was a strange one. 

When they wakened the next morning, 
to their great surprise they found themselves 
on an island, and not a whale or even a 
jelly-fish in sight. It seems they had been 
so restless in their sleep that it had given 
the whale a bad attack of indigestion, and 
he had spouted them out on the island. 

“Pinch me, Jacque, and see if I am 
awake,” said Jacqueline; but when Jacque 
did as he was bidden, she jumped up, quite 
satisfied that she was awake. 

They looked about them, and seeing no 
one in sight, they started out to explore 
[ 58 ] 







MMtY U-OtMC O^v/^ 


:£ TT must be an American eagle , for it looks like the bird 
^ on the silver American dollar ” 



WAR BABIES 


the land. Soon they heard a stir in the 
tree tops, and looking up they saw a great 
gray bird, who, with a flapping of big wings, 
alighted on the ground before them. 

“What is it, Jacque?” Jacqueline said, and 
Jacque, proud of his knowledge, said, “Why, 
sister, it must be an American eagle, for it 
looks like the bird on the silver American 
dollar mother has often showed me.” Sure 
enough, it was an American eagle, and it 
soon had the little girl and boy on its back, 
flying far over the tree tops and over the 
water again. 

As they flew near land, they saw great 
waves dashing in white spray against a rocky 
shore. Over the land they flew, and look- 
ing down saw a great busy city with black 
smoke rising in clouds above it. There 
were many tall church spires, and Jacque 
saw a tall monument reaching up into the 
[ 59 ] 


WAR BABIES 


sky, which afterward he learned was the 
Bunker Hill monument, marking the place 
where a great battle was fought many years 
ago. On they flew, over buildings and nar- 
row streets and a broad river, until finally 
the eagle put them carefully down on a 
doorstep before a big brick house, and with 
a farewell flap of his big wings he flew away. 

“America!” said Jacque. He took Jac- 
queline’s hand, and together they went up 
the steps of the house, and Jacque lifted 
the heavy brass knocker. The door was 
opened by a gray-haired old butler, who 
stood amazed to see two dirty little curly- 
haired children before him; but Jacque had 
seen, through the doorway that opened into 
the hall, a sweet-faced old lady sitting by 
the fire, and he rushed into her arms, crying, 
“Granmuddy! granmuddy!” and with a cry 
of joy both little children were gathered in 
[ 60 ] 








WAR BABIES 


the old lady’s - arms ; for this was their 
mother’s mother, who had visited them in 
their home in , France. Now, their adven- 
tures over, Jacqueline and Jacque have found 
a home in peaceful America, their mother’s 
land, and Jacque will learn to sing: 

My country, ’tis of thee. 

Sweet land of liberty, — 

Of thee I sing. 



[ 61 ] 













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